These past few years were not easy for anyone who knew the truth. Every sunrise felt important. Every sunset felt like one less day before something terrible might happen again. Those who understood the scale of the coming threat did not waste time. They trained. They prepared. They endured.
And the Rising Heroes were no different.
They had seen what corruption could do. They had stood in the ruins of the Never Ending Dream and felt how small they truly were. That memory never left them. It stayed in their hearts and pushed them forward.
Lila changed the most.
Every morning before the sun fully rose, she would stand beneath a roaring waterfall. The cold water crashed down on her shoulders and head without mercy. At first, it was difficult to even breathe under that pressure. But slowly, she learned to calm her mind and steady her breath. She closed her eyes and meditated for one full hour every morning. The water above her felt like the weight of the world, and she forced herself to remain unmoved.
At night, she chose a completely different place.
She would go near a volcanic region, where the air itself felt heavy and hot. The ground trembled at times, and the smell of ash filled her lungs. There, before sleeping, she meditated again for another hour. Fire surrounded her. Heat tested her focus. Sweat rolled down her face, but she did not move.
Water in the morning. Fire at night.
Balance.
She trained her sword every day, but she knew that was not enough. She wanted to become stronger in a new way. She picked up a double-edged spear. The weapon felt strange in her hands at first, longer and harder to control than a sword. But slowly, she understood its rhythm.
The spear allowed her to use both fire and water together with greater control. One end could burn like a blazing flame, while the other flowed like a crashing wave. It became an extension of her body.
The spear itself was crafted by Doran. Every inch of it was balanced carefully. It was strong but light enough for her fast movements. Lila respected the weapon deeply, knowing the effort that went into making it.
For spear combat, she trained under Junith. The sessions were harsh. Junith did not show mercy. Every mistake was corrected immediately. Every weak stance was punished with a strike. Lila fell countless times, but she always stood back up.
For elemental control, she trained under Cyrus. He pushed her limits constantly. He made her combine fire and water in ways that felt impossible at first. Steam storms. Boiling waves. Flaming currents. She learned to blend opposites without losing control.
She even went to Darius a few times for guidance. His training was different. It was less about power and more about intent. He taught her how to strike with purpose.
Later, she traveled south and trained with The Surf Crew. There, she improved her control over water even further. Fighting against powerful waves taught her how to move with the flow instead of resisting it.
Lila no longer wanted to stand behind anyone.
This time, she wanted to be the protector.
---
Adrian chose a different path.
He remained in the capital.
As the fourth prince, he didn't run away from his responsibilities. But he did not hide behind his title. Instead, he joined the royal army for training. He fought alongside soldiers, trained in the same fields, and endured the same exhaustion.
At first, some soldiers doubted him. But over time, they saw his dedication. He trained harder than many expected. He listened carefully during strategy meetings. He respected even lower-ranked officers.
Slowly, he gained respect.
He was given his own battalion. As their leader, he learned not just how to fight, but how to command. He studied battlefield tactics. He studied formation changes. He learned how to read enemy movement and predict attacks.
His father, the King, personally taught him political strategy. He learned about alliances, negotiations, and the heavy burden of ruling. Leadership was not just about strength. It was about decisions.
In combat, Adrian trained under many masters.
Kalix pushed him the hardest when it came to his future sight ability. He forced Adrian to rely on it during sparring, then suddenly banned him from using it to sharpen his instincts. Kalix also helped him awaken and control the light element, one of the rarest elements known.
Light was difficult to master. It required focus and clarity of heart. But Adrian slowly learned to use it. It strengthened his strikes and sharpened his perception.
Shin trained him in swordsmanship. Adrian mainly used one sword, but after intense training under Shin and Kalix, he began carrying a second blade. Dual sword combat gave him more options in battle.
Caelus and Kael also sparred with him at times. Each of them tested his limits differently.
By the end of those years, Adrian was not just a prince.
He was a commander.
---
Drakar returned to the North.
The cold there was brutal. The wind felt like blades against skin. Snow covered the ground endlessly. But Drakar chose that harsh land for a reason.
He wanted to test his flames against nature itself.
He entered his Overheat form again and again, even when his body burned painfully from within. In the freezing cold, he forced his flames to remain alive. He trained until his breath turned to smoke and his skin felt cracked from both heat and frost.
He also met the last few elder survivors of Dragonkind. From them, he learned air combat. He learned how to move through the sky properly. How to strike from above. How to dive and rise without losing balance.
On the ground, he trained with the ruthless northern army known as the Northern Imperium. They valued strength above all. Their training was brutal. There were no soft words, only harsh discipline.
Drakar learned ground combat there. He mastered his war-axe, swinging it with greater control and power. Eventually, he became part of the army itself.
He also met Darius during his time there and trained under him as well. Each lesson added more weight to his strength.
---
Sera also went North.
She trained under the elven scholars. The elves valued knowledge and control. Sera worked hard to improve her mana efficiency. She practiced spells repeatedly, refining even the smallest details.
She learned offensive spells that could strike swiftly. She learned defensive barriers that could protect entire groups. Nature magic became more stable in her hands.
More importantly, she worked on her confidence.
During fights, she once hesitated. Now she forced herself not to freeze. She practiced making decisions quickly.
After about a year, the elven scholars gave her an assignment.
She began teaching young elven children.
At first, she was nervous. After every lesson, she wondered if she explained things properly. She overthought her words. But slowly, she realized the children admired her. They listened carefully. They smiled when she praised them.
She had grown.
She also mastered healing skills. At times, she worked with the Northern Imperium's medic team. She healed wounded soldiers and supported injured fighters.
Sera bloomed quietly, like a flower in winter.
---
Doran returned to his family.
He feared rejection at first. He thought some might not accept his choices. But instead, he was welcomed warmly. His family respected his path and what he had accomplished.
With them, he continued learning the art of blacksmithing. He was taught secret family techniques passed down for generations. He studied metal carefully. He learned to understand its strength and weakness.
He worked hard.
He crafted weapons not just for himself, but for his entire team. Each weapon was made with care and thought.
Alongside forging, he trained his body. He carried heavy materials in the furnace daily. Wood. Metal. Anything required. He swung his hammer for hours, until his arms ached.
He was not graceful in combat. He did not know many techniques.
He only knew how to swing his hammer.
So he made sure that when it landed, it mattered.
---
After the war in the ruins, when the team had separated, Arachna revealed something important.
Fizzle was one of her children.
Arachna had given her shelter and purposefully sent her to the Rising Heroes so she could protect them when needed.
After that revelation, Fizzle stayed with Lila for some time. Later, she moved North and stayed with Drakar and Sera. She continued learning and growing before returning to Arachna for further training.
Fizzle could not fight directly.
But she trained to boost her allies and heal them better. She did not want to feel useless. She wanted to stand beside them, not behind them.
And so, each of them prepared in their own way.
They trained. They learned. They grew.
Not just them, but adventurers and armies across all nations became stronger.
Everyone knew the threat would come again.
And when it did, all of this preparation would be tested.
The storm was still far away.
But it was coming.